Latch for the doors of motor road vehicles



Aug. 21, 1928.

W. K. KAYE LATCH FOR THE DOORS OF MOTOR ROAD VEHICLES Filed March 10,1926 ATT hNEfs.

Patented Aug. 21, 1928.

WALTER KELITA KAYE, OF LEEDS, ENGLAND.

LATCH FOR THE DOORS OF MOTOR ROAD VEHICLES.

Application filed March 10, 1926, Serial No.

cially those of coupes and sedans, provided with latches which are easyto close and open without submitting the same to undue strains.

and consequent wear and tear, and at the Same time to provide safetycatch devices which will prevent a door from flying open, should thesame be not properly closed.

It is therefore my object to arrange and construct and combine withmotor vehicle doors a latch mechanism with the necessary striker plateand safety catch which shall be efficient and will stand a test of timeas to wear and tear.

It has been customary in Great Britain to provide railway carriage doorswith latches which have become known as the Kaye wedge locks, examplesof which are disclosed in the specification of British Letters PatentNos. 17,210 of 1906 and 10,530 of 1888. In this latch one of the maincharacteristics is a wedge shaped bolt arranged in connection with whatis known as a ram in such wise that each serves to relieve the other ofstrain during operation. Further requirements led to the adoption'of asafety catch in the striking plate, which catch was depressed by thelatch bolt on the closing of the door, but which projected and caughtthe slightly protruding bolt as the door tended to open, ex-

amples of safety catch patents in Great Britain are Numbers 10,522 of1893 and 1,205

of 1908. Practice has however shown that a pressing contact of the wedgeshaped bolt against the immovable face of the safety catch has created atendency of the bolt to move back into its casing and acontinued openingpressure in certain circumstances tended to open the door and defeat thedesired object.

A safety catch and striking plate of the kind referred to along with theimproved construction hereinafter described is adaptable to the doors ofmotor coaches and the like and the resultant mechanism will standconsiderable wear and tear and be easy of operation, owing to theabsence of'stra-in on .the parts. I

Iaccomplish myin'iprovement by arranging a safety catch in the strikingplate in such wise that it will easily recede during the dos ingmovement of the door without placing undue strain 011 the bolt and byforming that face of the bolt which engages the safety catch, in theopening position, with a flat face which will meet and engage the safetycatch 93,566, and in Great Britain June 27, 1925.

engaging face and overcome the tendency of the bolt to retire, or bepressed back within its casing.

It should be understood that the latch mechanism is of the kind thatwhen the opening handle is released after the bolt has left itshousingin the striking plate, the wedge bolt automatically protrudes or tendsto protrude to engage the safety catch. v The nature and operation of myinvention are fully disclosed in the following specification andaccompanying drawings in which similar reference letters indicatecorresponding parts wherein Fig. 1 represents a sectional plan of a doorand door pillar showing the disposition of the latchparts, strikingplate, and safety catch.

Fig. 2 represents a face view of a striking plate and safety catch.

Fig. 3 represents a sectional elevation through that part of thestriking plate which carries the safety catch with the nose of the boltin the engaging position.

Fig. at represents a face view of the latch showing bolt and ram.

Fig. 5 represents an elevation of the latch mechanism and striking platefrom the interior of the vehicle and Figs. 6 and 7 represent a plan anda side view respectively of a modified form of safety catch.

To carry my invention into effect. In Fig. 1 D represents a portion ofthe door and P the door pillar. The door D is usually hinged slightly tothe outside to ermit of a clearing action between the door and pillar asthe same are slightly sloped from the inside to the out side as shown.In the form of latchishown the casing L and inside handle mechanism Hare fastened on the inside, a suitable spindle H shown dotted connectsto the *outside handle 10,530 of 1888 and No. 15,595 of 1891, this typeof latch having a'sliding 'bolt B and a ram R. 1 Inasmuch as themechanism-for operating the bolt and ram is old and forms no part of thepresent invention, it is deemed unnecessary to illustrate the sameherein. The striking plate S is mounted in the pillar P, a face view ofthe striking plate is shown in Fig. 2. This plate S is provided with asafety catch C, which is the essential feature of the present invention,as hereinafter de- The latch is of the old and well known type known asKayes wedge type as shown for instance in British Patents No.

scribed. On the safety catch engaging side of the bolt B is a flat Bformed towards its end, this flat is shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

In Fig. 1 the parts are shown with the door in its closed position butfor the sake of clearness of illustration the gap between the door andstriking plate is wider than it will be in actual practice.

In operation to open the door the bolt is operated in, this case eitherby the sliding handle H on the inside or the handle H on the outside.This movement withdraws the bolt B, and on release of the handle thebolt B has a. tendency to remain slightly projected. If therefore thedoor be pressed towards the opening position without keeping the bolt inits innermost position, such bolt will contact with the safety catch andprevent the door from opening. This action will take place should thedoor be not correctly closed.

In closing the door it is not necessary to operate either handle. Thedoor may be pushed or pulled to, in which case the protruding bolt Bwill engage the pivoted safety catch and depress the same in thedirection of the closing of the door until it is cleared, the bolt Briding over the face C of the catch G. Then the ram R in passing overthe striking plate engages the same and at the same time the nose of thebolt B also engages the striking plate.

The ram R and bolt B move in, as described in the British patentshereinbefore referred to and this frees the bolt B and allows its'springs to actto press out such bolt until it is housed in its recess oropening S in the striking plate.

' In order to operate easily and without undue strain on the parts, thesafety catch C is pivotally mounted as at C in the striking plate S, anaperture S being provided for the purpose. The catch C is contained in acasing C suitably attached to the plates as in Fig. 3 and is operated bya spring C. In order that the catch C cannot move too far out of itshousing a projection C may engage the under edge of the plate S. Inanother form Figs. 6 and 7 the catch is provided with side projections Cwhich will also contact with the underside of the plate S.

To prevent access of dust and dirt, the sloping face C of the catch C isset back having a making up portion C to fill up to the apertures S Thebolt B as before described is provided with a flat face B and in thesafety position this face will engage with the 'stop faoe C".

This arrangement prevents any tendency of pressure between the parts topush the bolt B within the casing.

It is also preferred-to limit the inward travel of the catch C withinits casing C? both to relieve the springs of undue pressure and to takestrain off the cam catch. Thus when the catch is in the position itsincline C will be level, or nearly so, with the striking plate face, andthe rear portion of the catch such as C Fig. 3 will contact with thecasing C The striking plate S and catch C will be in one fitting and beattached in any convenient manner.

S represents a cover fitting for the striking plate fastened to thepillar P on the inside.

A striking plate and safety catch as hereinbefore described will befound particularly adaptable for motor car doors and obviate many of thedefects now experienced.

What I claim is 1. A door fastening device, comprising a striking platemounted in the door frame and provided with a pair'of recesses opentoward the door opening, one of said recesses adapted to receive thedoor retaining bolt when projected, and a pivotally mountedspringpressed safety catch disposed in the other recess and having aportion normally projecting beyond the outer surface of the plate, saidcatch being adapted to engage the bolt and stop movement of the door inthe opening direction and to be pressed into its recess dur-.

ing the movement of the door in the closing direction.

2." A door fastening device, comprising a striking plate mounted in thedoor frame and provided with a pair of recesses open toward the dooropening, one of said recesses adapted to receive the door retaining boltwhen projected, and a pivotally mounted springpressed safety catchdisposed in the other recess and having a portion normally projectingbeyond the outer surface of the plate, said catch being adapted toengage the bolt and stop movement of the door in the opening directionand to be pressed into its recess during the movement of the door in theclosing d1rection, said catch having means for limiting its movement.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification atLeeds, Yorkshire, England, this 18th day of February,

WALTER KELITA KAYE.

